Today, an International Workers’ Memorial Day commemoration in Perth heard from Tony and Robyn Hampton. Their son, Jarrod, was the victim of a work fatality while working as a diver for Paspaley Pearls out of Broome. UnionsWA has today called on the WA Government to fast-track a Safety Code of Practice for all Occupational Divers and to strengthen occupational health and safety laws to ensure harsher penalties for safety offences. Comment is also provided on the sad news overnight of a work fatality at a Collie mine.

The local WA ACTU Change The Rules campaign has announced a range of activities in the Pearce federal electorate, currently held by Minister Christian Porter. Supporters today paraded outside Porter’s electorate office with a skeleton to remind voters of the skeletons in Porter’s closet – his support for cuts to weekend penalty rates pay, the robbo-debt disaster and a failure to deliver federal government support for the Ellenbrook rail line.

UnionsWA has today commented on recently released data by the ABS comparing the wages of men and women in casual work where no annual leave or sick leave is provided. The ABS estimates that 271, 600 working West Australians are in some form of insecure, casual or contract work where they have no entitlement to paid annual leave or sick leave.

UnionsWA today released the findings of a major survey (available here) conducted on work and health that has exposed risks arising from employers coercing those injured at work to have employer representatives present during medical examinations and pressure to, in the first instance, attend medical professionals other than an injured working persons’ GP. With 1,052 respondents, this is a credible survey, one of the larger studies on work and health in WA in recent years.

UnionsWA has commented on the recent release by SafeWork Australia of the latest data on work fatalities in Australia, including WA. These are the most reliable figures available on work fatalities and provide data on work fatality rates per 100,000 workers over five years to 2015-16. They show the fatality rate in WA worsening from 1.5 in 2011-12 to 1.7 in 2015-16. Over these years, WA is the only state or territory in Australia where the work fatality rate both deteriorated and has been worse than the national average.

Together with the National Union of Students, UnionsWA has today, the Labour Day holiday in WA, announced details of a rally in Perth as part of a National Day of Action to fight attacks on worker’s rights, living standards, penalty rates and rising costs for health and education under the Abbott Government.

Save Our Services, a group led by UnionsWA on behalf of public sector unions and community members, has today launched the first phase in a new campaign opposing TAFE fee increases, course reductions and funding cuts. An online video, advertising and targeting of emails to MPs will feature strongly in the lead-up to the Mid-Year Financial Statement due shortly and rumoured to include further funding cuts and cost increases.